1284 WB Number Plate
1284 WB Number Plate
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Regplates have over 99% of all available number plates available to buy online 24 hours a day. We are members of MIRAD, APRT & CNG trade dealers associations.
All number plates are transferred in accordance with the DVLA.
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Unfortunately 1284 WB Number Plate From Regplates.com has now been sold, however, click below to search for similar numbers we do have available or call us on 01482 627 628
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Our team of trained personalised number plate staff will professionally handle your transfer as swiftly as possible with all paperwork change over handled for you including the V5, tax disc and MOT certificate. We offer advice without technical 'jargon', and are always competitive on price. |
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If you are looking to sell a private plate, our personalised registration plates valuations department can give you an accurate market value on your registration number by post or by e-mail.
Personalised Cherished Number Plates
Since their humble beginning in 1903, cherished numbers have continued to increase in popularity often adding the finishing touch to our prized possessions and very often prove to be a valuable investment.
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The First Number Plate Ever Issued A1 assigned in 1903 |
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The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on an official vehicle register, and to carry number plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.
You can find out where your personalised registration number plate was originally issued here.
NUMBER PLATES:
Are you a cat lover with a few hundred quid to spare? How about a huge Dennis the Menace fan keen to show your appreciation via the medium of your motor? Well you’re in luck as the DVLA – the body in charge of car registrations in the UK – is holding 2017’s first live auction of registration numbers this week and among the plates on offer are WH15 KER ( yours for a starting price of £700) and BE11 ANO (a mere £400). The event – which starts on Wednesday – will see a total of 1,500 personalised registrations being auctioned to members of the public. The registrations on offer have been chosen by DVLA to suit all tastes, styles and budgets and range from plates that reflect names such as EL17 OTT, HA15 RRY and PA14 ULA through to quirkier offerings such as OUR 848Y, OLD 800K and YOU 105E. And fans of Harry Potter could find themselves spellbound by POT 110N which carries a reserve of £250. The agency will be aiming to build on the success of its live auction programme in 2016, which raised £25.6 million through five sales – setting a new record for a second consecutive year. Last year, the total sales of personalised registrations by the DVLA surpassed £147m, taking the total amount raised since the sales began in September 1989 to £2.4 billion. Sales by the agency suggest that interest in personalised plates has soared in recent years with a 150 per cent increase of registered bidders for its live sales since 2011. On average 9,500 customers com[pete for lots per auction. Adam Griffiths, of DVLA Personalised Registrations, said: “It’s been nearly three months since our last live sale, and I am really excited by our first sale of 2017 where some really great registrations are available to bid for. We have experienced two successive record-breaking years and, when you look through the catalogue at the registrations we have compiled for this sale, I am very hopeful that this success will continue.” He added: “Bidding in person is by far the most popular way to buy a registration and it is at the auction where you will find the real atmosphere – it’s a great day out and we make the experience as enjoyable and friendly as possible. If you can’t make it to the auction we offer free telephone, internet and absent bidding facilities”.
Police patrolling the M6 north pulled over a pricey Lamborghini after it was spotted missing a NUMBERPLATE.
The pricey supercar - which can cost around £200,000 - was stopped in Staffordshire on Sunday.
It is not uncommon for number plates to be stolen from vehicles.
Criminals target cars that are similar to the car they are driving, in an attempt to avoid apprehension and identification when committing crimes.
If you ask someone who has had their plates stolen, they will soon tell you how costly, inconvenient and stressful it can be.
Police are asking community members to do all they can to secure their number plates and make them more difficult to remove. Police will continue to target and detect offenders, but they need your help.
If you notice your neighbour’s registration plate is recently missing, tell them, and encourage them to report it to police immediately.
If your number plates are stolen you will firstly need to report the theft to your local police. You will need to contact Service Tasmania and pay to get new plates. You will also need to contact your insurance company.
You will have some explaining to do if you are pulled up by the police as it is also an offence to drive a car without plates affixed.
A stolen number plate is most likely being used on a car that is being driven by someone without a licence or is disqualified from driving, and is potentially an unsafe or dangerous driver. They are also actively avoiding police in order to commit a range of crimes including petrol stealing, car theft and burglaries.
Thefts are occurring during the day and night and are being stolen from cars parked in all areas including carparks, public streets and private driveways.
Park your car in a secure place, off the street, ideally with garaging and sensor lighting. Stay alert, report suspicious behaviour to police.
Kicking off on 6 February to coincide with 'Safer Internet Day', the campaign seeks to remind people that the only place to find DVLA services is on Gov.uk, and that any text or email asking for personal information is not from the DVLA and should be deleted without clicking.
Aimed at all motorists, the campaign's emphasis is on digital channels, as online is where phishing is most prevalent.
But the DVLA recognises that, given the broad age range of its audience, many motorists renew their car tax by phone. The organisation is therefore targeting traditional media too.
With social the medium of choice (via the DVLA's Twitter and Facebook channels), impactful imagery is being used to convey the message, built on a 'mask' visual depicting danger and crookery.
The campaign's central message is telling people what they should and should not expect when dealing with the DVLA online or on the phone. Activity encourages people to click through to a DVLA news story that gives details on staying safe online and on the phone. It provides links to sites including Get Safe Online and various government portals where they can report suspicious behaviour.
The timescale of the campaign is indefinite, with the DVLA planning to reinforce its messaging on a regular basis into the long term.
Measuring the campaign's impact will be a critical element in the push. The DVLA will track the number of views to its news story and is monitoring impressions and engagement on social media, its media coverage and calls and complaints made to its call centre.
Liz Rees, the DVLA's head of external comms, said: "We often receive messages from customers and colleagues about refund scams purporting to be from DVLA. More recently, people have been posting their documents online without realising that their personal details are clearly visible. It’s important that motorists understand the risks of posting personal details online.
"We also want to remind them that we will not send any texts or emails asking for personal details and that the only place to find official DVLA services and information is Gov.uk."
Parking firms are buying details of more than 19,000 vehicles a day from the DVLA to chase unpaid fines.
Last night MPs warned that ‘bully boy’ firms are using the information to hound innocent motorists.
They called for a crackdown to protect drivers as it was revealed that the trade in information has reached record levels.
Between April and June the DVLA sold 1.74million vehicle keeper records, up from 1.06million in the same period last year. The DVLA, which sells the information for £2.50 a vehicle, is generating almost £1.5million a month.
The information is used by parking companies to chase drivers for fines of up to £100.
The most prolific of these is ParkingEye, owned by outsourcing firm Capita – which was exposed by the Daily Mail for using ruthless tactics to collect TV licence fees for the BBC.
It obtained 570,000 vehicle records in the three-month period, followed by Smart Parking with 125,000 and Euro Car Parks with 118,000.
The RAC Foundation said the industry is out of control, with the data suggesting a parking fine is issued every four and half seconds. It warned that the details of around seven million vehicles could be sold during the financial year, which would suggest that almost a quarter of motorists are being chased for a parking fine.
MPs are worried that the information is being widely misused, with motorists unfairly targeted while visiting hospitals and high street shops. Drivers have complained about being fined up to £100 for returning their cars a few minutes late, or after being unable to buy a ticket because of a faulty ticket machine.
Tory MP Sir Greg Knight said there appears to be a worrying rise in a practice known as ‘ghost ticketing’.
This is when a warden puts a ticket on a car and takes a photo. The warden then removes the ticket so the driver is unaware they were given one.
The firm waits 14 days, then hits the driver with an increased fine of up to £100 because they have not paid.
Sir Greg, who has tabled a private members’ Bill in the Commons to crack down on the self-regulated parking industry, said: ‘These figures are concerning. It is highly unlikely there has been a massive increase in bad parking.
‘Instead bully-boy parking firms are hounding innocent motorists and milking them for money. We need to put rogue firms out of business. There are many private parking companies who are playing fair. But others are clearly making a killing out of pursuing and persecuting motorists who have done nothing wrong.’
Fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘My concern is that some of these firms use the fines they levy as part of their business model.
‘This gives them a strong incentive to levy fines unjustly and aggressively. We would not need a new law if DVLA was more willing to strike off companies suspected of behaving badly.’
A ParkingEye spokesman said: ‘We operate with clear, standard and proportionate procedures which follow the British Parking Association’s code of practice. We encourage people who have received a parking charge to appeal if they think they should not have received a charge.’
More than seven million people tuned in to watch the Queen’s speech on television on Christmas Day - but thousands also logged on to the Swansea-based DVLA’s online services.
Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Morriston reveal that despite it being December 25, many still found time to keep on top of their vehicle administration, from taxing cars to buying personalised registrations.
So, in addition to the estimated 10 million turkeys eaten on the big day, 8,550 vehicles were taxed or declared off road online, 521 people informed the agency online they had bought or sold a vehicle, and more than 1,600 people applied for their first provisional driving licence.
Oliver Morley, chief executive of the Swansea-based DVLA, said: “Giving customers choice in how, where and when they use our services is at the heart of what we do.
“We are committed to creating digital services that meet the needs of our customers and clearly, these services are allowing people the opportunity to fit their admin into their lifestyle – 365 days a year.”
Other figures for online activity on Christmas Day include 136 people paying a fine, 621 people buying a personalised registration number, 456 people applying for a duplicate licence, 727 telling the DVLA of their new address and 11,343 viewing their driving licence.
THERE are a number of mistakes that can be made on personalised number plates that could see drivers land a £1,000 and also fail their MOT. Here is what they are and how to avoid them.
Illegal number plates could see thousands of Brits face fines and even make them fail their MOT.
Certain personalised number plates have the potential to be costly errors for drivers.
While a personalised number plate can be, to some people, a nice form of expression, they could also be costly.
Personalised number plate firm Regplates.com encourages drivers to use a degree of imagination and interpretation while designing one, but sticking to the traditional number plate formats.
According to the company, however, 15,000 drivers across the UK have been fined for having an illegal plates over the past three years.
The worst offenders come from London with 3,058 offences clocked while North Wales and Norfolk also totted up over 1,100 each.
This includes plates that did not conform to regulations, cars without a front or back plate or ones with indistinguishable/obscured plates.
It is a legal requirement for a car’s numberplate to be clear and legible and failure to meet these criteria can result in £1,000 fine, loss of the personal registration number and/or a failed MOT.
There are other modifications that drivers can also be penalised for.
These include using the wrong colours for the lettering or for the background of the plates.
Number plates should have black characters on a white background at the front of the car and on a yellow background on the back of the car.
Spacing is also crucial and drivers should ensure that the characters on their plate are correctly spaced.
Non-confirming backgrounds or stickers that could interfere with the legibility of a plate are also factors that carry a fine risk.
The standard font used on all number plates is ‘Charles Wright’ and it is the only one deemed acceptable for motorists to have.
Similarly, the flag on the left hand side of the plate must also be correct.
Acceptable flags include: The EU flag, The Union Jack, The St George Cross, The Scottish Saltire (St Andrew Cross) and The Red Dragon of Wales.
The transport department has clarified that all vehicles registered in the state must have High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) fitted by January 15, 2018. The department has plans to impose a fine of Rs 500 on those who fail to comply with the requirement.
The state government had in November 2012 made it mandatory for all new vehicles to have HSRP number plates. But the vehicles registered before 2012 were given exemption. That exemption has now been done away with and the transport department, following a Supreme Court order has mandated HSRP for any and all vehicles registered in the state. The apex court had in November this year issued notices and sought response from five states on a contempt plea alleging non-compliance of the order related to ensuring high security registration plates (HSRP) for all vehicles. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the governments of five states and sought their response in eight weeks.
It was contended that despite the apex court directive earlier in 2017, the five state governments - Gujarat, Assam, Delhi, Haryana and Bihar had not complied with the directions.The transport department stated that it has also come to their notice that several vehicles registered after November 2012 are moving without the HSRP number plate.
Police have generated Dhs 8.4 million in revenues from the auction of 150 distinctive vehicle licence plates (category III) during the fourth electronic auction on Saturday. It was organised in cooperation with Emirates Auction, the leading auction company in the Middle East specialising in the organization and management of auctions and electronic.
The double-digit number (77), the highest amount in the auction, reached Dhs1,460,000 after a fierce competition that lasted until the last seconds of the auction closing on the Emirates Auction website.
While the three, four and five-digit plates attracted a number of auctioneers.
The number 11111 was able to reach the barrier of Dhs680,500, while the number 555 sold for Dhs465,000.
The number plate 10000 was sold Dhs 374,000, the number 5555 sold for Dhs356,500.
Brigadier General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, said: "We are pleased to conclude this successful auction of the distinctive vehicle number plates’, which comes within the strategy of the Sharjah Police General Command to employ modern technology and systems to improve the quality of services provided to customers according to international standards.
It was also an opportunity for citizens and residents to acquire special plates with their desired numbers.
Al Shamsi thanked Emirates Auction for its efforts in organising the fourth electronic auction and other auctions that contributed in achieving the Ministry of Interior's strategy to enhance customer satisfaction and improve the quality of services provided to them.
Do you fancy driving around Launceston as Batman while keeping an eye out for your nemesis, Joker?
Two number plates going under the hammer this month could turn the childhood dream of a DC Comics’ fan into reality.
Batman and Joker number plates are up for grabs at Tullochs Auctions’ Collector Car Auction.
Auction manager Jesse Reid tips the plates will bring out the young superhero and villain in bidders.
“The plates themselves are enough to have an auction on,” she laughed.
It is expected the Batman plate will fetch up to $35,000 while the Joker is only tipped to reach $2000.
In July a number plate bearing the number one sold at Tullochs Auctions for a staggering $310,000.
Ms Reid admits although Batman is expected to fetch $35,000, the huge amount paid for the number one plate showed anything was possible.
“There’s a lot of number plate investors – they’ve been really undervalued for a while – and have been picking up,” she said.
The increased interest has resulted in 24 number plates being put up for sale at the upcoming auction.
But it is not only stamped aluminum up for grabs at the Collector Car Auction.
A rare, left-hand drive 1974 LJ Holden Torana built in the Philippines could sell for a “very affordable” price.
With one owner, Ms Reid tips the car will fetch up to $45,000.
As of Tuesday evening, pre-bidding, the top bid lodged was $22,500.
The Torana coupled with a Falcon XB John Goss Coupe and a 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Targa is likely to draw car enthusiasts from the woodwork.
The Porsche Targa – with a desirable Tasmanian history – is likely to sell for between $85,000 and $95,000.
A FX 48-215 featured in Saturday’s story in The Examiner about the closure of Holden will also go under the hammer.
“We’re looking somewhere around the million with the interest in the stock we’ve got,” Ms Reid said.
The auction manager said the popularity of vehicles had been increasing.
“The car auctions have a fairly big mainland following and we get a great response,” she said.
The Collector Car Auction will be held on October 21 from 1pm.
In fact, when the DVLA issues a car’s registration plate, they actually follow a very distinct system.
While it may look like a random combination, a number plate can actually tell you how old the car is and where it was registered.
A new format for registrations was introduced in September 2001, meaning all cars registered after that date would have their number plate made up of three parts.
How to tell where the car is from
The first section of a number plate is the local memory tag – the first two letters of the plate.
This identifies where the vehicle was registered, and is itself broken down into two parts.
The first letter stands for the local area, for example E denotes Essex, while L stands for London.
The plate’s second letter then identifies at which DVLA office in that area the registration took place – multiple letters can signify the same DVLA office.
How anyone can tell how old your car is just by looking at it
The two numbers in the middle of your plate identify how old the car is.
The DVLA issues two lots of number plate combinations each year on March and September 1st.
All plates issued between the 1 March and the end of August will use the same two numbers as the year they are registered.
For example, a car registered in May 2017 would have “17”.
Vehicles registered between September 1 and the end of February the following year, use a similar pattern of higher numbers.
When the format changed in 2001, this group of vehicles were identified differently by starting the labelling from “51” rather than “01”.
Therefore this second lot of numbers will always be 50 plus the year the car was registered – so after 2010, the number starts with a 6.
For example, a vehicle registered in December 2009 will show “59” on its plate but December 2011 will be “61”.
Is any of the plate random?
The final three letters of the number plate tend to be a random combination that make the registration unique.
But it’s not uncommon for cars with neighbouring letter sequences to be from the same manufacturer, due to batch allocation of new registrations to dealers by the DVLA.
The letters “Q” and “I” are excluded from the random sequence, along with any phrases that are deemed offensive.
Using the current scheme, there will be a sufficient combinations to last until the end of February 2051.
What about registrations before September 2001?
From 1983 onward, licence plates used a leading single letter to represent the year of first registration.
The letter “A” was used in 1983, progressing through the alphabet, finishing with “Y” at the end of August 2001.
The rest of the characters on the plate were random.
Prior to 1983, the same system was used, but with the year letter at the end of the plate rather than the beginning.
A PETITION against a police chief's decision to sell the first number plate issued to the county has gathered over 850 signatures.
Retired police constable Alan Matthews started the online petition after he found out that the 'AB 1' licence plate was up for auction.
Police enthusiasts have lambasted the decision to sell the plate, which has traditionally been used on the staff cars of Worcestershire's Chief Constables.
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion claims the sale will enable him to invest in frontline policing.
Mr Matthews, aged 69, who worked for West Mercia Police from 1985 to 1994, said: "It's a piece of police heritage that shouldn't be sold off.
"It was the original number that the chief had. I just think that there's other ways the PCC could save money.
"I'm getting quire ratty about it. When you have been in the police you see how much waste there is.
"It's a sad thing that people in the UK have so much history but don't think much of it."
Jon Cherry, the director of regplates.com, thinks the plate will sell for between £225,000 and £275,000.
He said: "We have sold similar plates recently at this level and the market for high quality original issue number 1 plates is very strong.
"The buyers of these are intent on having only the best and only this plate will suffice!"
Mr Campion said his priority is use the assets at his disposal to make West Mercia a safe place.
"The prospect of a chief constable or any public servant using a private number plate belongs in a time gone by, both for security reasons and public expectation," he said.
"Therefore a considered decision has been made to market ‘AB 1’ and any sale proceeds will be reinvested towards frontline policing in West Mercia."
He acknowledged the history behind the plate but said it had not been used for around six years.
A spokesman for Mr Campion said he was not selling anything else apart from the number plate.
Vehicle registration was introduced in 1903 and it is believed 'AB 1' was first issued to Worcestershire's Chief Constable Herbert Sutherland Walker in 1908.
Are you a cat lover with a few hundred quid to spare? How about a huge Dennis the Menace fan keen to show your appreciation via the medium of your motor? Well you’re in luck as the DVLA – the body in charge of car registrations in the UK – is holding 2017’s first live auction of registration numbers this week and among the plates on offer are WH15 KER ( yours for a starting price of £700) and BE11 ANO (a mere £400). The event – which starts on Wednesday – will see a total of 1,500 personalised registrations being auctioned to members of the public. The registrations on offer have been chosen by DVLA to suit all tastes, styles and budgets and range from plates that reflect names such as EL17 OTT, HA15 RRY and PA14 ULA through to quirkier offerings such as OUR 848Y, OLD 800K and YOU 105E. And fans of Harry Potter could find themselves spellbound by POT 110N which carries a reserve of £250. The agency will be aiming to build on the success of its live auction programme in 2016, which raised £25.6 million through five sales – setting a new record for a second consecutive year. Last year, the total sales of personalised registrations by the DVLA surpassed £147m, taking the total amount raised since the sales began in September 1989 to £2.4 billion. Sales by the agency suggest that interest in personalised plates has soared in recent years with a 150 per cent increase of registered bidders for its live sales since 2011. On average 9,500 customers com[pete for lots per auction. Adam Griffiths, of DVLA Personalised Registrations, said: “It’s been nearly three months since our last live sale, and I am really excited by our first sale of 2017 where some really great registrations are available to bid for. We have experienced two successive record-breaking years and, when you look through the catalogue at the registrations we have compiled for this sale, I am very hopeful that this success will continue.” He added: “Bidding in person is by far the most popular way to buy a registration and it is at the auction where you will find the real atmosphere – it’s a great day out and we make the experience as enjoyable and friendly as possible. If you can’t make it to the auction we offer free telephone, internet and absent bidding facilities”.
Acrylic Number Plates
Acrylic number plates sigify the registration mark of a vehicle.
They can be made of different materials, but more commonly seen are metals and acrylics. But as to how the standard specifications on the use, make and display guidelines of number plates are, it would vary with every city and country. There are some who would prefer to have their number plates more personalized. As long as how it is obtained abides with the regulations, such is possible. In fact, motorists of today are starting to appreciate better the value of vanity plates.
Police patrolling the M6 north pulled over a pricey Lamborghini after it was spotted missing a NUMBERPLATE.
The pricey supercar - which can cost around £200,000 - was stopped in Staffordshire on Sunday.
It is not uncommon for number plates to be stolen from vehicles.
Criminals target cars that are similar to the car they are driving, in an attempt to avoid apprehension and identification when committing crimes.
If you ask someone who has had their plates stolen, they will soon tell you how costly, inconvenient and stressful it can be.
Police are asking community members to do all they can to secure their number plates and make them more difficult to remove. Police will continue to target and detect offenders, but they need your help.
If you notice your neighbour’s registration plate is recently missing, tell them, and encourage them to report it to police immediately.
If your number plates are stolen you will firstly need to report the theft to your local police. You will need to contact Service Tasmania and pay to get new plates. You will also need to contact your insurance company.
You will have some explaining to do if you are pulled up by the police as it is also an offence to drive a car without plates affixed.
A stolen number plate is most likely being used on a car that is being driven by someone without a licence or is disqualified from driving, and is potentially an unsafe or dangerous driver. They are also actively avoiding police in order to commit a range of crimes including petrol stealing, car theft and burglaries.
Thefts are occurring during the day and night and are being stolen from cars parked in all areas including carparks, public streets and private driveways.
Park your car in a secure place, off the street, ideally with garaging and sensor lighting. Stay alert, report suspicious behaviour to police.
Kicking off on 6 February to coincide with 'Safer Internet Day', the campaign seeks to remind people that the only place to find DVLA services is on Gov.uk, and that any text or email asking for personal information is not from the DVLA and should be deleted without clicking.
Aimed at all motorists, the campaign's emphasis is on digital channels, as online is where phishing is most prevalent.
But the DVLA recognises that, given the broad age range of its audience, many motorists renew their car tax by phone. The organisation is therefore targeting traditional media too.
With social the medium of choice (via the DVLA's Twitter and Facebook channels), impactful imagery is being used to convey the message, built on a 'mask' visual depicting danger and crookery.
The campaign's central message is telling people what they should and should not expect when dealing with the DVLA online or on the phone. Activity encourages people to click through to a DVLA news story that gives details on staying safe online and on the phone. It provides links to sites including Get Safe Online and various government portals where they can report suspicious behaviour.
The timescale of the campaign is indefinite, with the DVLA planning to reinforce its messaging on a regular basis into the long term.
Measuring the campaign's impact will be a critical element in the push. The DVLA will track the number of views to its news story and is monitoring impressions and engagement on social media, its media coverage and calls and complaints made to its call centre.
Liz Rees, the DVLA's head of external comms, said: "We often receive messages from customers and colleagues about refund scams purporting to be from DVLA. More recently, people have been posting their documents online without realising that their personal details are clearly visible. It’s important that motorists understand the risks of posting personal details online.
"We also want to remind them that we will not send any texts or emails asking for personal details and that the only place to find official DVLA services and information is Gov.uk."
Unique Number Plates
Y B-ZAR?
Because his license plate is APRIST - short for apiarist, a fancy word for beekeeper.
Lots of people don't get it, because it's not a very common word," said Clark, who keeps honeybees in the backyard of his Old Louisville home. "Every once in a while, somebody sees is and asks me about beekeeping and honey. But the whole point of a vanity plate is to create a word which is just like the real words but is itself a puzzle, so when you're driving down the road, it's 'Oh, yeah, I got it!'""
Parking firms are buying details of more than 19,000 vehicles a day from the DVLA to chase unpaid fines.
Last night MPs warned that ‘bully boy’ firms are using the information to hound innocent motorists.
They called for a crackdown to protect drivers as it was revealed that the trade in information has reached record levels.
Between April and June the DVLA sold 1.74million vehicle keeper records, up from 1.06million in the same period last year. The DVLA, which sells the information for £2.50 a vehicle, is generating almost £1.5million a month.
The information is used by parking companies to chase drivers for fines of up to £100.
The most prolific of these is ParkingEye, owned by outsourcing firm Capita – which was exposed by the Daily Mail for using ruthless tactics to collect TV licence fees for the BBC.
It obtained 570,000 vehicle records in the three-month period, followed by Smart Parking with 125,000 and Euro Car Parks with 118,000.
The RAC Foundation said the industry is out of control, with the data suggesting a parking fine is issued every four and half seconds. It warned that the details of around seven million vehicles could be sold during the financial year, which would suggest that almost a quarter of motorists are being chased for a parking fine.
MPs are worried that the information is being widely misused, with motorists unfairly targeted while visiting hospitals and high street shops. Drivers have complained about being fined up to £100 for returning their cars a few minutes late, or after being unable to buy a ticket because of a faulty ticket machine.
Tory MP Sir Greg Knight said there appears to be a worrying rise in a practice known as ‘ghost ticketing’.
This is when a warden puts a ticket on a car and takes a photo. The warden then removes the ticket so the driver is unaware they were given one.
The firm waits 14 days, then hits the driver with an increased fine of up to £100 because they have not paid.
Sir Greg, who has tabled a private members’ Bill in the Commons to crack down on the self-regulated parking industry, said: ‘These figures are concerning. It is highly unlikely there has been a massive increase in bad parking.
‘Instead bully-boy parking firms are hounding innocent motorists and milking them for money. We need to put rogue firms out of business. There are many private parking companies who are playing fair. But others are clearly making a killing out of pursuing and persecuting motorists who have done nothing wrong.’
Fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘My concern is that some of these firms use the fines they levy as part of their business model.
‘This gives them a strong incentive to levy fines unjustly and aggressively. We would not need a new law if DVLA was more willing to strike off companies suspected of behaving badly.’
A ParkingEye spokesman said: ‘We operate with clear, standard and proportionate procedures which follow the British Parking Association’s code of practice. We encourage people who have received a parking charge to appeal if they think they should not have received a charge.’
As a company we sponsor sporting events such as the 'White Gold Cup', and many local events for clubs, charities and schools.
We also sponsor the Generation FMX freestlye motocross team.
So let the experts take the stress out of buying or selling your registration mark. Why not browse this site, and if you need any further assistance, we are on hand from 9am until 7pm Monday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm Sunday.
More than seven million people tuned in to watch the Queen’s speech on television on Christmas Day - but thousands also logged on to the Swansea-based DVLA’s online services.
Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Morriston reveal that despite it being December 25, many still found time to keep on top of their vehicle administration, from taxing cars to buying personalised registrations.
So, in addition to the estimated 10 million turkeys eaten on the big day, 8,550 vehicles were taxed or declared off road online, 521 people informed the agency online they had bought or sold a vehicle, and more than 1,600 people applied for their first provisional driving licence.
Oliver Morley, chief executive of the Swansea-based DVLA, said: “Giving customers choice in how, where and when they use our services is at the heart of what we do.
“We are committed to creating digital services that meet the needs of our customers and clearly, these services are allowing people the opportunity to fit their admin into their lifestyle – 365 days a year.”
Other figures for online activity on Christmas Day include 136 people paying a fine, 621 people buying a personalised registration number, 456 people applying for a duplicate licence, 727 telling the DVLA of their new address and 11,343 viewing their driving licence.
THERE are a number of mistakes that can be made on personalised number plates that could see drivers land a £1,000 and also fail their MOT. Here is what they are and how to avoid them.
Illegal number plates could see thousands of Brits face fines and even make them fail their MOT.
Certain personalised number plates have the potential to be costly errors for drivers.
While a personalised number plate can be, to some people, a nice form of expression, they could also be costly.
Personalised number plate firm Regplates.com encourages drivers to use a degree of imagination and interpretation while designing one, but sticking to the traditional number plate formats.
According to the company, however, 15,000 drivers across the UK have been fined for having an illegal plates over the past three years.
The worst offenders come from London with 3,058 offences clocked while North Wales and Norfolk also totted up over 1,100 each.
This includes plates that did not conform to regulations, cars without a front or back plate or ones with indistinguishable/obscured plates.
It is a legal requirement for a car’s numberplate to be clear and legible and failure to meet these criteria can result in £1,000 fine, loss of the personal registration number and/or a failed MOT.
There are other modifications that drivers can also be penalised for.
These include using the wrong colours for the lettering or for the background of the plates.
Number plates should have black characters on a white background at the front of the car and on a yellow background on the back of the car.
Spacing is also crucial and drivers should ensure that the characters on their plate are correctly spaced.
Non-confirming backgrounds or stickers that could interfere with the legibility of a plate are also factors that carry a fine risk.
The standard font used on all number plates is ‘Charles Wright’ and it is the only one deemed acceptable for motorists to have.
Similarly, the flag on the left hand side of the plate must also be correct.
Acceptable flags include: The EU flag, The Union Jack, The St George Cross, The Scottish Saltire (St Andrew Cross) and The Red Dragon of Wales.
The transport department has clarified that all vehicles registered in the state must have High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) fitted by January 15, 2018. The department has plans to impose a fine of Rs 500 on those who fail to comply with the requirement.
The state government had in November 2012 made it mandatory for all new vehicles to have HSRP number plates. But the vehicles registered before 2012 were given exemption. That exemption has now been done away with and the transport department, following a Supreme Court order has mandated HSRP for any and all vehicles registered in the state. The apex court had in November this year issued notices and sought response from five states on a contempt plea alleging non-compliance of the order related to ensuring high security registration plates (HSRP) for all vehicles. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the governments of five states and sought their response in eight weeks.
It was contended that despite the apex court directive earlier in 2017, the five state governments - Gujarat, Assam, Delhi, Haryana and Bihar had not complied with the directions.The transport department stated that it has also come to their notice that several vehicles registered after November 2012 are moving without the HSRP number plate.
The UK's most expensive number plate to date is the F1 registration number purchased by a British businessman for £440,625 in 2008, though that's just small change compared to the £7m spent by Abu Dhabi-based Saeed Khouri on the 1 number plate - officially the largest sum of money ever spent on a registration number.
Police have generated Dhs 8.4 million in revenues from the auction of 150 distinctive vehicle licence plates (category III) during the fourth electronic auction on Saturday. It was organised in cooperation with Emirates Auction, the leading auction company in the Middle East specialising in the organization and management of auctions and electronic.
The double-digit number (77), the highest amount in the auction, reached Dhs1,460,000 after a fierce competition that lasted until the last seconds of the auction closing on the Emirates Auction website.
While the three, four and five-digit plates attracted a number of auctioneers.
The number 11111 was able to reach the barrier of Dhs680,500, while the number 555 sold for Dhs465,000.
The number plate 10000 was sold Dhs 374,000, the number 5555 sold for Dhs356,500.
Brigadier General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, said: "We are pleased to conclude this successful auction of the distinctive vehicle number plates’, which comes within the strategy of the Sharjah Police General Command to employ modern technology and systems to improve the quality of services provided to customers according to international standards.
It was also an opportunity for citizens and residents to acquire special plates with their desired numbers.
Al Shamsi thanked Emirates Auction for its efforts in organising the fourth electronic auction and other auctions that contributed in achieving the Ministry of Interior's strategy to enhance customer satisfaction and improve the quality of services provided to them.
Do you fancy driving around Launceston as Batman while keeping an eye out for your nemesis, Joker?
Two number plates going under the hammer this month could turn the childhood dream of a DC Comics’ fan into reality.
Batman and Joker number plates are up for grabs at Tullochs Auctions’ Collector Car Auction.
Auction manager Jesse Reid tips the plates will bring out the young superhero and villain in bidders.
“The plates themselves are enough to have an auction on,” she laughed.
It is expected the Batman plate will fetch up to $35,000 while the Joker is only tipped to reach $2000.
In July a number plate bearing the number one sold at Tullochs Auctions for a staggering $310,000.
Ms Reid admits although Batman is expected to fetch $35,000, the huge amount paid for the number one plate showed anything was possible.
“There’s a lot of number plate investors – they’ve been really undervalued for a while – and have been picking up,” she said.
The increased interest has resulted in 24 number plates being put up for sale at the upcoming auction.
But it is not only stamped aluminum up for grabs at the Collector Car Auction.
A rare, left-hand drive 1974 LJ Holden Torana built in the Philippines could sell for a “very affordable” price.
With one owner, Ms Reid tips the car will fetch up to $45,000.
As of Tuesday evening, pre-bidding, the top bid lodged was $22,500.
The Torana coupled with a Falcon XB John Goss Coupe and a 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Targa is likely to draw car enthusiasts from the woodwork.
The Porsche Targa – with a desirable Tasmanian history – is likely to sell for between $85,000 and $95,000.
A FX 48-215 featured in Saturday’s story in The Examiner about the closure of Holden will also go under the hammer.
“We’re looking somewhere around the million with the interest in the stock we’ve got,” Ms Reid said.
The auction manager said the popularity of vehicles had been increasing.
“The car auctions have a fairly big mainland following and we get a great response,” she said.
The Collector Car Auction will be held on October 21 from 1pm.
If you are buying the plates separately then you'll need to go to a registered number plate supplier to get new number plates for your vehicle. The registered supplier will need proof of your identity, as well as proof that the registration number belongs to you. The number plate supplier will need to see at least one document from each of the lists below. This will allow the number plate supplier to confirm your name, address and entitlement to the registration number. All documents must be original, not copies.
In fact, when the DVLA issues a car’s registration plate, they actually follow a very distinct system.
While it may look like a random combination, a number plate can actually tell you how old the car is and where it was registered.
A new format for registrations was introduced in September 2001, meaning all cars registered after that date would have their number plate made up of three parts.
How to tell where the car is from
The first section of a number plate is the local memory tag – the first two letters of the plate.
This identifies where the vehicle was registered, and is itself broken down into two parts.
The first letter stands for the local area, for example E denotes Essex, while L stands for London.
The plate’s second letter then identifies at which DVLA office in that area the registration took place – multiple letters can signify the same DVLA office.
How anyone can tell how old your car is just by looking at it
The two numbers in the middle of your plate identify how old the car is.
The DVLA issues two lots of number plate combinations each year on March and September 1st.
All plates issued between the 1 March and the end of August will use the same two numbers as the year they are registered.
For example, a car registered in May 2017 would have “17”.
Vehicles registered between September 1 and the end of February the following year, use a similar pattern of higher numbers.
When the format changed in 2001, this group of vehicles were identified differently by starting the labelling from “51” rather than “01”.
Therefore this second lot of numbers will always be 50 plus the year the car was registered – so after 2010, the number starts with a 6.
For example, a vehicle registered in December 2009 will show “59” on its plate but December 2011 will be “61”.
Is any of the plate random?
The final three letters of the number plate tend to be a random combination that make the registration unique.
But it’s not uncommon for cars with neighbouring letter sequences to be from the same manufacturer, due to batch allocation of new registrations to dealers by the DVLA.
The letters “Q” and “I” are excluded from the random sequence, along with any phrases that are deemed offensive.
Using the current scheme, there will be a sufficient combinations to last until the end of February 2051.
What about registrations before September 2001?
From 1983 onward, licence plates used a leading single letter to represent the year of first registration.
The letter “A” was used in 1983, progressing through the alphabet, finishing with “Y” at the end of August 2001.
The rest of the characters on the plate were random.
Prior to 1983, the same system was used, but with the year letter at the end of the plate rather than the beginning.
A PETITION against a police chief's decision to sell the first number plate issued to the county has gathered over 850 signatures.
Retired police constable Alan Matthews started the online petition after he found out that the 'AB 1' licence plate was up for auction.
Police enthusiasts have lambasted the decision to sell the plate, which has traditionally been used on the staff cars of Worcestershire's Chief Constables.
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion claims the sale will enable him to invest in frontline policing.
Mr Matthews, aged 69, who worked for West Mercia Police from 1985 to 1994, said: "It's a piece of police heritage that shouldn't be sold off.
"It was the original number that the chief had. I just think that there's other ways the PCC could save money.
"I'm getting quire ratty about it. When you have been in the police you see how much waste there is.
"It's a sad thing that people in the UK have so much history but don't think much of it."
Jon Cherry, the director of regplates.com, thinks the plate will sell for between £225,000 and £275,000.
He said: "We have sold similar plates recently at this level and the market for high quality original issue number 1 plates is very strong.
"The buyers of these are intent on having only the best and only this plate will suffice!"
Mr Campion said his priority is use the assets at his disposal to make West Mercia a safe place.
"The prospect of a chief constable or any public servant using a private number plate belongs in a time gone by, both for security reasons and public expectation," he said.
"Therefore a considered decision has been made to market ‘AB 1’ and any sale proceeds will be reinvested towards frontline policing in West Mercia."
He acknowledged the history behind the plate but said it had not been used for around six years.
A spokesman for Mr Campion said he was not selling anything else apart from the number plate.
Vehicle registration was introduced in 1903 and it is believed 'AB 1' was first issued to Worcestershire's Chief Constable Herbert Sutherland Walker in 1908.
By 1932, the available numbers within this scheme were running out, and an extended scheme was introduced. This scheme consisted of three letters and up to three digits, taken from the series AAA 1 to YYY 999. The letters I, Q, and Z were never used, as they were considered too easy to mistake for other letters or numbers or were reserved for special use, such as the use of I and Z for Irish registrations and Q for temporary imports. (After independence, the Republic of Ireland continued to use this scheme until 1986, and Northern Ireland still uses it.)
Members of MIRAD and
the Cherished Numbers Guild
the Cherished Numbers Guild
- Free transfer service - your paperwork is handled by our trained team
- Over 25 years expertise - long established and trusted company
- DVLA Recognised Reseller - linked directly from the DVLA website
- DVLA Registered Number Plate Supplier - in line with all DVLA & MOT regulations
